If you see certainty in that which is uncertain, you are bound to suffer.

Love is not a feeling. It's a capability.

The yogi's joy is in the solitude of mountains, where all distractions naturally dissolve into emptiness.

The mind itself is the maker of all happiness and misery; yet beings do not understand this and blame external conditions.

The Buddha never taught a sectarian religion; he taught Dhamma - the way to liberation - which is universal.

Mindfulness is the gentle effort to be continuously present with experience.

When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce.

Zen in its essence is the art of seeing into the nature of one's own being, and it points the way from bondage to freedom.

You are the master of your own mind. You can be your best friend or your worst enemy.

The technique of self-observation is the technique of observing the reality about oneself at the experiential level.

Smile, breathe, and go slowly.

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.

When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways - either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits, or by using the challenge to find our inner strength.

The master's introduction is direct recognition of one's own nature. Meditation is maintaining the continuity of this recognition.

The path is not about moving from one place to another. It's about recognizing where we already are.

The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.

The only things that are truly mine are my actions and their results.

The archer ceases to be conscious of himself as the one who is engaged in hitting the bull's-eye which confronts him. This state of unconsciousness is realized only when, completely empty and rid of the self, he becomes one with the perfecting of his technical skill.

External phenomena are like a dream, whatever appears is not real. Recognize the nature of dream-like phenomena to be dream-like.

Reality is only a Rorschach ink-blot, you know.

In true vipassana practice, there is no room for likes and dislikes. There is only observation.

The idea of Zen is to catch life as it flows. There is nothing extraordinary or mysterious about Zen. I raise my hand; I take a book from the other side of the desk; I hear the boys playing ball outside my window; I see the clouds blown away beyond the neighboring wood: all these I do in Zen.

The path of practice requires both faith and wisdom, both devotion and understanding.

Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we're holding back.

The true mark of a spiritual practitioner is that your own behavior is better, not that you can criticize others well.

The cave I live in is empty and so is my mind. I live simply and at ease.

All beings by nature are Buddha, as ice by nature is water. Apart from water there is no ice; apart from beings, no Buddha.

Just as a mother would protect her only child with her life, even so let one cultivate a boundless love towards all beings.

Real happiness lies within. It cannot be found in external objects or achievements.

This very body is the Buddha. And this very earth the lotus paradise.

The practice of meditation is not about achieving states of bliss but about seeing things as they really are.

Do not mistake understanding for realization, and do not mistake realization for liberation.